The growth of professional pickleball is happening both on the court and behind the scenes.

At the Texas Ranchers, two women are helping shape that growth from different sides of the organization. Chief Operating Officer Alex Maxson is building the infrastructure behind a professional Major League Pickleball franchise, while Virginia Reyna, Head of Community, is focused on creating opportunities for more people, especially women and girls, to find confidence, connection and belonging through the sport.

Their roles may look different, but both are helping build a future for pickleball where more women have opportunities to compete, lead and create.

Alex Maxson: From Division I Soccer to the Front Office

Alex Maxson grew up on fields and courts, chasing whatever season was next. Soccer, basketball, softball, it didn’t matter. More often than not, she was the only girl out there.

That competitive streak carried her to Division I soccer at Florida Atlantic University, where the discipline and resilience that would later define her career started to take shape.

Today, Maxson is Chief Operating Officer of the Texas Ranchers, running the business behind the roster: the operations, people and infrastructure a fast-growing professional franchise needs to compete.

Maxson is part of a growing group of women taking leadership roles on the business side of professional sports. As women’s sports continue to gain visibility, she believes progress also depends on who is making decisions behind the scenes, building organizations, making investments and shaping the future of franchises.

For Maxson, getting more women and girls involved in sports is not separate from her work. It is part of the mission.

“There’s a reason the vast majority of women in leadership played sports growing up, it’s not a coincidence, it’s a pipeline,” Maxson said. “When you learn to lose a game on Saturday and show up to practice on Monday anyway, you’ve built something no classroom can teach you. I want every girl to have access to that, not because it makes her a better athlete, but because it makes her a harder person to knock down for the rest of her life.”

That resilience continues to influence how she approaches building the Ranchers: one decision, one challenge and one season at a time.

Virginia Reyna: Building Community Beyond Competition

For Virginia Reyna, Head of Community for the Texas Ranchers, the power of pickleball extends beyond professional competition.

It is about the confidence people gain, the friendships they form and the feeling that they have found a place where they belong.

Some of the work she is most proud of has happened away from professional matches, including introducing underserved youth to pickleball through partnerships with the Kendra Scott Foundation and Pickleball for All, as well as creating spaces where women feel comfortable showing up and trying something new.

That focus on expanding access reflects a broader movement within pickleball to create more opportunities for women and girls through sports.

That mission also inspired the Ranchers Cowgirl Club, an idea Reyna developed last year that is now preparing to launch as a women’s social club in Austin.

The goal is to make the club feel less like entering a competitive sports environment and more like walking into a community where you already belong. Women of different ages and skill levels will be able to play, have fun and form friendships that continue beyond the court.

With a background in television, storytelling and entrepreneurship, Reyna has always been drawn to big ideas and the people who bring them to life. For her, one of the most exciting parts of working in pickleball is the opportunity to create something that did not exist before, especially when it can open a door for someone else.

“Sports give women and girls permission to be competitive, confident and unapologetically visible,” Reyna said. “When a girl sees women leading, creating and taking up space, she starts to understand that she can do the same. That belief can change the direction of her entire life.”

Creating More Ways for Women to Lead

Maxson and Reyna are approaching the growth of pickleball from different angles, but their work points toward the same larger goal.

For Maxson, that means building the business and organizational foundation of a professional franchise while demonstrating where a lifetime in sports can take women.

For Reyna, it means creating communities that make it easier for women and girls to step onto the court, build confidence and see themselves as part of the sport.

Their work also reflects a growing group of women helping shape pickleball through leadership, coaching and community building.

Together, their work shows that growing pickleball is about more than adding tournaments, teams or courts. It is also about creating a stronger pipeline of people who feel empowered to participate, build and lead.

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